Increased use of RE likely to save Rs 41k crore in 10yrs:IACC

Calling for setting up of a national commission for monitoring the progress of energy generation from renewable sources, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) today said its usage will help save nearly Rs 41,000 crore in the next 10 years.
The chamber has also sought for tasking the various energy intensive sectors such as railways, airports among others to switch over to the clean energy in a time-bound manner.
"Electricity accounts for 20 per cent of railways operational cost and it is estimated that over Rs 41,000 crore will be saved in 10 years by increasing use of renewable energy. It is the time that a concerted effort to be made to move from conventional sources to renewable," IACC national president NV Srinivasan said in a statement issued here.

He further said the launch of Indian Railways' first solar powered diesel, electrical and multiple unit train from Safdarjung station in Delhi and its plan to generate 500MW of solar power on its land, which will power 8000 railway stations across the country will ring the order book of the renewable equipment manufacturing companies.
"Significantly, some of the well-known US corporations in the equipment manufacturing for renewable sources of energy have been scouting Indian market, which has a huge Chinese presence presently," Srinivasan added.
IACC believes that considering the amount of power consumption in India, the ageing grids requires modernisation and automation to achieve multiple objectives of providing affordable and uninterrupted power to domestic, commercial, and industrial consumers.

"Therefore, there is pressing need for adaption of smart grids, which have been successful in minimising transmission and distribution losses in many developed countries," he added.